I usually try to avoid walls of text, but I came across an impromptu AMA by the developer and thought this particular comment was excellent (I love stuff that challenges my perception):

“The concept of inherent worth that transcends our arbitrary value systems is THE central theme of the game. No jokes are made at the expense of Dropsy’s perceived disorder, and any laughter a player directs at him would be fueled by their own perception of what’s worth being laughed at. The game doesn’t reward or encourage it, and you’ll probably find yourself bored if that’s why you’re playing it.

If anything, I hope people DO play it with that mindset, because they’re the exact types of people who’d do well to play something like Dropsy.

Most characters in the gameworld either fear or hate Dropsy at the beginning. Some have seemingly justifiable reasons due to a fatal circus fire that took a few lives, but most are just reacting to him as one would an urban legend.

Dropsy, however, is the only blameless, completely pure character in the game. In that sense, I’d definitely call it a bit of an empathy game. Though I’d say it’s more about Dropsy having empathy on a broken miserable world than the other way around. We’ve had a few beta testers even come back and say that it was surprisingly sad and/or bittersweet because of this.

Of course there are farts and jiggly butts and stuff, but those are universal to the human experience. :)

I understand that some may be uncomfortable with a video game (especially one that looks like mine) addressing themes like this, but I think it is good (and needed) if well handled. I have close family who have developmental disorders, and I’d definitely be making a different game if it weren’t for them.

I understand that this may be a hard sell with how vibrant and crazy the aesthetics are, and I wouldn’t blame you for not wanting to play it, but what the game says about developmental disorders has been very carefully considered.

He’s also not actually disabled, but I can’t go into that without ruining the game.”

“A first person puzzle adventure which puts you into the shoes of a simple structural analyst. Nothing more than a quiet desk jockey assigned to survey some routine structural damage. Quickly though, your mission turns from a mundane trek to a fight for survival.

“Your tools are simple: the camera around your neck and the wits to navigate a virtual labyrinth of debris. How you tell your story is your choice. Will you have the commitment to finish your duty, or will you ignore all else but the preservation of your own life?”

“A two-dimensional cooperative adventure game with emphasis on traversal, discovery and companionship. Explore, solve puzzles and unravel a mystery together. Whether you decide to play Yonder by yourself or cooperatively, the adventure will revolve around interactions between the characters of the game and their surroundings.”

Apologies for the gif quality. The footage available mostly includes the awesome lighting, which makes getting a 256 colour gif at the correct size (that looks good) really difficult. Dreaming of the day when Tumblr supports HTML5 “gifs”.

“A 2D point-and-click adventure game. The characters and backgrounds are painted in watercolor and hand-animated on paper.”

“Mizuka, a little Japanese girl, lives on a small remote island, in the Okinawa archipelago. One night, she has a strange dream. When she wakes up, a terrible danger is threatening the island. Mizuka must explore the surroundings and enter a mysterious spirit world in order to save her village.”